


Menace

by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden)



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Brian's a science nerd, Drift Compatibility, Hurt/Comfort, Jaeger Pilots, Jaegers (Pacific Rim), Kaiju (Pacific Rim), Roger's a hot new pilot, The Drift (Pacific Rim), Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-11-12 13:50:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18012116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Of_Dresden/pseuds/ClaraCivry
Summary: Gratuitous Queen Pacific Rim AU.Roger's this hot new hope of the fight against the Kaiju, but can't find anyone drift compatible.Then he meets Brian.





	1. Chapter 1

Roger Taylor was the most promising Jaeger pilot of the whole Shatterdome. He and many others would get on their giant shiny monsters and end the Apocalypse. After losing so many people (and not just in battle, but in so many places, his sister on a Kaiju related building collapse, Tim in an explosion after a machine malfunctioned...) they really needed to use anyone who willing and in decent enough shape to fight the good fight.

And Roger was very willing – very driven and very ready. He had been fighting his whole life, for once thing or another, and he'd never shied away from a good confrontation. Some said that he had a lot of fight in him, and he nodded, with a smile. He wanted to back at those monsters. That had deprived him of his big dreams of being a great musician, an international drumming superstar. They had also destroyed so many houses, so many people's lives had been ruined because of those horrible monsters that had destroyed so much of the world, that had taken so many lives.

They needed to pay and here they had the weapons to make them pay. Enormous Jaegers built to fit the needs of every pair of pilots. The first time Roger saw a Jaeger he knew that was for him, he knew he needed to be on the front row of the fight, piloting one of those beauties. He would the best damn pilot the world had ever seen.

So he prepared himself. He'd always been in great physical condition, but now he was fast and agile, but strong too. Being a drummer meant that hi arms were always in good shape, but now all of him was in good shape. He was a perfect warrior, he had strength, he had motivation, he had strategy and drive and he had technique. He was the perfect pilot.

If only he could find someone that was drift compatible.

Practically every woman and man had tried out to see if they were compatible with Roger. He was a very good looking man, very charming and interesting, and piloting with him would mean a lot of one on one time. They would get glory, they would get praise and they would get beautiful blue eyes looking at them. Something that everybody wanted, and yet something that nobody got.

Nobody among all those dozens of candidates was able to keep up with him, nobody was interesting and good enough. Not even close. He was too quick, too fast paced, too fidgety. With the people that were already fast their tryout fight only lasted seconds (Roger beat them in seconds, that was so far the only outcome) and those who were slower kept him more on his toes, but eventually caved too.

And there was a Jaeger waiting for Roger – it was big and shiny, still unnamed. They would name it when they found his partner, something that seemed more and more unlikely as more time passed. People were running out, and Roger still had no partner. What a waste.

He'd come closest with a flamboyant man called Freddie, who had been his friend since forever, but he already had a partner, a quiet but honest man called John, that Freddie had taken under his wing.. And yes, there were projects for building a Jaeger for three, but they were only that, projects. And if Roger had troubles connecting with one people, with two...

In the mean time Roger felt that he was wasting away just giving advice from headquarters, never being in the actual fight. He was becoming increasingly frustrated with this whole situation, he really was, but the didn't know what to do. He was having some beers with Fred and complaining about it.

“I'm just bored of these boring people. I want somebody special, is that too much to ask?”

Fred let out a little chuckle. Roger was pissed.

“Do you think this is funny?”

“Don't be such an oversensitive bitch, Roger. It was just the word you used, special. There's this guy in the science team, lovely bloke – he built himself a guitar from some wreckage and called it the Red special. I thought it would be a good name for a Jaeger.”

“He gave his guitar a name?”

“Yeah, Brian's quite a peculiar soul. And he's good, I mean, I've sang while he played guitar and it's been good enough to make tear up at his solos. I dare say he's worthy of me, and that's saying something”

It really was. Ok, so he hadn't gone to the science or IT departments looking for other pilots yet (it felt too desperate) but a man who built himself a guitar a guitar and gave it a name was obviously as passionate for music as him. Maybe he would be a viable candidate.

“Introduce me”

Guitar man was nothing like the bald short man Roger had been expecting. Instead, he was a tall (very tall) lanky guy with a head full of dark curls.

“Brian, darling, this is Roger, he wanted to meet you. Roger Taylor, Brian May, Brian May, Roger Taylor.”

Guitar man, whose name was apparently Brian, frowned. He'd heard about Roger Taylor, the golden hope of the shatterdome. Why would he want to meet him, a lowly science guy who helped predict when the next Kaiju would appear? Made no sense. As if reading his mind, Freddie cleared his doubts.

“Roger used to be a drummer, and he was very touched by your story with the Red special.”

Brian smiled, and Roger felt his hopes about having a partner come undone. This man was way too soft for such a cruel fight. Somebody like that would never had the anger necessary to absolutely destroy a Kaiju. Hell, he looked like the type of guy that would defend Kaiju rights.

“Why don't you play us something, dear. You'll see, Roger, Brian's solos are a rock and roll light in this world of darkness.”

“You're building me up too much, Fred. Now he'll hear me and be disappointed. I won't live up to expectations.”

But Brian did more than that – he surpassed ever expectation Roger may have had. It was clear, from the intensity of the music that there was much more to the guitarist than just soft smiles and cute stories. There were clearly many layers to this Brian May, and Roger was very interested.

Freddie had an idea, and called John on walkie talkie, to have him bring what most ressembled a drum set. And then asked them to play together, and it was like magic.

“You see it too, don't you, Deaky?”

“Drift compatible.”

Things moved quite fast after that. Even though Brian was still a bit reluctant to be a pilot, they made all the compatibility test, and they passed them. They were very different people, but fundamentally good, intelligent individuals with a passion for music. Who wanted justice for those people that they had lost. (Brian had lost both his parents in one of the first Kaiju attacks, and it had scarred him, badly)

John did some changes to the Jaeger, added some touches of Red so Brian would feel included, and added some apps so they always listen to music, no matter how impractical it sounded.

“So, what should we name this beauty?” Freddie said, as the four of them looked at it, once John had finished with the changes. “John, any ideas, since you're the one that had given it this lustrous new look?”

“Well, I don't know either of you very well, so I thought we could do something with your last names, May and Taylor?”

“Such as?” Roger asked, intrigued.”

“The Maylor Menace.”

Roger and Brian looked at each other, and smiled.

The Maylor menace was ready to go.

 


	2. Chapter 2

_You can always find me in the drift._

Drifting with someone was the most intense experience ever. Something Roger couldn't hope ever understand fully, something beyond understanding primal and feral in a way. Something that went down to all the layers of on's existence, something that touched every single cell every little fiber of you. And the other person.

Roger had known it was going to be intense and life changing and all those things, because he had heard millions of stories from other pilot, read the most detailed and vivid descriptions, and yet none of those chronicles could ever come close to doing justice to what drifting meant, to the experience of drifting. It was truly indescribable, the way your very existence, your very soul merged with someone else's and how they became you and you become them. As much as he thought he'd been prepared and knew what was coming, it had come as a shock, the sheer intensity of it.

Brian, on the other hand, had never expected to pilot anything or drift with anyone, so he wasn't as informed, or as prepared. He knew and understood the science of the so called neural handshake, but he thought that would something only pilots would experiences, while he was in an isolated corner of the lab, writing data to help those in actual battle. And suddenly he was there, in that huge Jaeger about to drift with his man who was everyone's biggest brightest hope. It was a bit too much... But hey, Roger was a drummer. If they could work well together making music anything else would be much easier. Had to be.

Still, as compatible as they were, Roger and Brian were practically strangers. They didn't much past beyond their love and capacities for music and that when they were fighting they very complementary styles: Roger was fast and straightforward in his attacks, with fire and potency; Brian was slower, let things shimmer more, thought things through and for longer, making him good for strategy. This made them a great team: Brian could manage to think up an strategy to give them the upper hand, Roger made sure that they didn't hold back. The simulations they did always ended up in wonderful victory.

But the drifting together... They hadn't known it would be like this, so... intimate. Brian saw Roger as he grew up, his sister, his dreams of becoming a star, how he excelled at music, all those people underestimating him for how beautiful he was, or because he had an odd voice, or he looked like a girl. And he proved all of them wrong and he was great at everything he did. And then the apocalypse happened and his dreams disappeared in a cloud o mist and blood and horror. But he decided, that he couldn't be a star in the way he wanted, then he would a star in this war-torn world. And that what he was. A star.

Stars... Roger saw Brian looking at the stars as a little boy, fascinated by them. He learned all of those names and numbers, all the laws that made them work the way they did. He was smart and knew himself to be really intelligent and talented. Not a warrior, but a gentle calm boy who still had very firm ideas. A bit too stubborn, perhaps. But really a mind to be reckoned, a talented musician, and a good person. Kind, and loving and passionate about what he did, be it outer space or music. And then the apocalypse happened, and Brian lost everything. Roger felt it, too. The pain - he watched, felt it, felt that he waned to die, experienced all those months of letting himself go. And then finding a home, once again, in science.

Roger's eyes were teary when they broke apart, Brian's full of silent admiration. The amount of drive and determination, the perseverance and strength in that blonde man were aweworthy. Brian was glad to have someone like that by his side someone with such strength and light inside him. A mighty force to be reckoned with. He would encourage him when he had doubts, he would know that the fight had to be won, he wouldn't let himself (or his partner) go all that easily. This was a good match. 

Where Brian was mostly happy and feeling all that admiration, Roger was mostly heartbroken. The truth was, despite the circumstance, he'd had a fairly easy life. He was beautiful, talented, smart, charismatic. He had a nice family that loved him, he had the means to do what he liked, he had in general quite an easy life. He wasn't used to... all that pain. All that sorrow. It wasn't just the bad things that had happened to Brian, it was the overwhelming scale in which he felt things. He'd never wanted to die, never, but now he knew what it felt like, wanting to do it. What it felt like to be a star, but consider yourself dust. It gave him pause. And maybe that the very thing he'd needed, and he'd lacked. 

So yeah, the drift had been much more profound and strong that they had thought, but it wasn't a bad thing. It made them bond, it made them be one. Which was a basic thing for a Jaeger to work properly, to end those monsters that plagued humanity. And they were good, they listened to each other, they let the other shine. 

The first time, the Maylor Menace just went as backup, helping out some other two more experienced Jaegers take down the Kaiju. They managed to do it on their own. The next two times they went solo, and their victory caused some of the biggest celebrations in all of the shatterdome. They had been right to have hope in Roger, even if they never expected him to succeed with such a nerdy, unknown partner. But everyone learned to love Brian as well, even if he wasn't as flashy as Roger, or worse Freddie. 

Freddie, who was super glad to see his friend succeed in such a spectacular, public way. Roger had always wanted to be a superstar, and this was giving him the chance bask in people's love and enjoy most of the good things of being famous. The admiration, the appreciation, the love. He deserved it, after how hard he'd worked. And Brian too, that lovely soul, this gave him the chance to get out of his head, to live life in a more complete way, to use his intelligence for the good of mankind. It was good. Until it wasn't. 

 

*

“Menace?? Menace where are you??”

John had lost the contact with their newest Jaeger and was freaking out. The last thing he'd heard from it was something that sounded like a scream of pain in Roger's unmistakable voice. The Kaiju had been taken down, and was now sinking in the river from which he'd appeared but... Where was the menace? What had happened to their heroes??

“I need teams in their last known location now!”

They found them in the wreckage of what once was their Jaeger, now lying on the floor, practically in pieces. The battle had been difficult and cruel, the cost of victory too high. And they were there, bloodied and unconscious, surrounded by wires and metal, injured almost beyond recovery. Roger had been impaled by some parts that had flown in the fight, in a leg and a shoulder. Brian was nearly bled out from a big injury in his stomach. Still, somehow after all that horror... Their hands were touching. As if somehow, in some way, they were still connected, and they wanted to remain that way. 

When they were separated, however briefly, they got worse, their vitals declining. So even as they underwent surgeries, their hands were together, not holding, but touching at least. Together, as they were in the menace. 

_ You can always find me in the drift.  _

_... and you can always find me in you, too.  _

_ Always _

 


	3. Chapter 3

For a long time, they just slept. Brian and Roger were one of the most precious things stored in the shatterdome, and they were in a very delicate state. Neither of them had woken up since the attack, and everyone was very concerned. Their injuries had been extremely severe and had needed a lot of work, many hours of surgery and care until they were in a semi-stable condition. They both flatlined a couple of times (one after the other, as if they knew their partner was nearly dead and couldn't bear it). It was a complicated, unstable balance what they had going on and all the other pilots and personnel were holding their breaths, hoping for the best.

The best doctors in the country had been called to tend to their fallen pilots. It was hard, with their land so ravaged by the Kaiju attacks and the had lost some people on the way. But the rudimentary care of the on-site medics was not enough, they knew, as much as they were doing their best. When Dr. Cheng arrived she wasn't expecting what she saw, it was an image that somehow at the same saddening but endearing. Two patients in critical condition, holding hands.

"They get worse when you separate them." Freddie explained to the doctor, who couldn't understand the situation. "It shouldn't be possible, and there's probably no scientific explanation, but we can't risk separating them, we can't risk losing them."

Freddie decided to let the doctor do her thing and hoped for a happy resolution. He went to John, who was busy trying to remake the Menace. It was going to be a very complicated task (some parts were lost, others broken or melted, some systems beyond repair) but he was determined and he was going to rebuild that machine no matter how long it took. They had most of the parts, they had the blueprints, and they had all the system specifications. Besides, it was a distraction from all the terrors that were going on in the surface of the world - and in their own place, too.

"How are they?" John asked, as soon as Freddie got there. In the weeks since he'd met Roger and Brian he'd come to really appreciate the pilots, even if they were very different people.

"No change. It's a good thing because they're not getting worse, but it's a bad things because they're not out of the woods yet."

John was busying himself with some metallic plates.

"Do you think it's fixable?"

"The menace? Yes, absolutely. I'm just worried about when we're called because without the Menace..."

"We're the first line of defense."

Freddie ad John's Jaeger was called "the Singing sensation" because Freddie had been convinced his co-pilot would be somebody who sang like him, someone to do duets with. John was convinced he couldn't sing, sadly, but he could do nice vocals and so the name had stayed. The younger man may not have been the best singer, but he was great at getting to the point.

John left the plate on the floor and look at Freddie in the eye, with a "don't bullshit me" look on his face.

"Do you think they'll wake up?"

Freddie drew a cheeky smile.

"Of course! Roger's too stubborn for anything else."

*

Brian's eyes opened briefly, and he didn't know where he was. He seemed to be lying down and there was some beeping around him. He tried to remember. The Kaiju. Their Jaeger coming undone, pieces of it falling on the floor. Blood. Pain. Looking at Roger one last time. Roger! The machines beeped loudly as his heart raced.

What had happened to his partner? He tried to sit up, but couldn't. He was too weak, too faint for practically any movement. But there was something warm in his hand... It was a familiar hand, half bandaged, rough from years of drumming and fight against bigger evils. He was there, next to him. Roger.

His eyes were closed and he was pale as death. Was it too late already? Brian's breath caught in his throat. He wanted to call Roger, help him, but couldn't. When he tried to speak his name on a soft sob came out. He was in a lot of pain, he knew that he was still not recovered at all, but that didn't matter in that moment, but still needed to do something.

Unable to sit up or do anything more useful, Brian just squeezed the pale hand that was on his own and then ran his thumb up and down Roger's bandaged hand, and with what little voice he had left (he had tried to call for help, somebody, but his voice was too small, he couldn't be loud, as much as he tried) he sang something that his mother used to sing to him when he was sick, hoping it would help Roger like it had helped him so many times.

Roger never woke up, and soon there were dark spots in front of his eyes. But no... He couldn't...He had to... had to help....

That was Roger started getting better.

He woke two days later, and was much more alert. He could talk, he could move easily, he was well rested and very much recovered form his injuries after all those days of unconsciousness. After some initial confusion, he remembered what had happened, where he was, everything. He'd been worried about the attack, about if they managed to stop the Kaiju at first, and then... He saw him.

"Why... why is he still like that? Why isn't he waking up?"

Brian. His partner, his co-pilot, he who had become one of his best friends. The other half of the Menace, and he was hooked up to a million IV's, with one of those nasal cannula, and a bag of blood and... Roger was smart enough to know that if he still needed all those so long after the initial injury... It didn't bode well for Brian, which made him feel many but mostly anger. He was really fucking angry to see Brian like that.

"Tell me." He demanded of the doctor that had been checking him after he woke up. The doctor looked at him with sympathy. Screw her.

"It's... not a lost cause yet, we have reason to believe he woke up a couple of days, but... The damage was quite extensive and affected many vital organs. As of right now, it's up whether he'll wake up or... pass away. I really do hope he gets better."

Roger looked at the face in the pillow, with all those curls spread around him. He was so pale, so thin. This was wrong. He had spent months trying to find someone compatible, someone worthy of him, someone that would allow him to fight the good fight. And he'd found the person and now he was going to slip away? Not on his watch.

Brian deserved better, more years of stars and guitar solos. He deserved to see the end of this war. He deserved peace. But how could Roger bring him back? The best doctors hadn't been able to. Unless....

_You can always find me in the drift...._

Without thinking too much about it, Roger sat next to Brian, took his long hands on his own and closed his eyes, trying to reach him, trying to find Brian in there, in him too.

"Come back, come back, come back...."

There had to be... Among his own screwed up memories, the deaths of his loved ones, music with Freddie, seeing a Kaiju for the first time, someone's hand on his as he slept...

_Brian was there too, looking at the stars._

_"I need you back, Bri. I can't fight this war without you."_

_"I'm not sure I can come back. I'm very tired."_

_Roger understood. He was very tired too, even if he enjoyed the fight much more than his very sensitive partner._

_"I know you are, but we have to be back! People are counting on us, people that might die if the Menace never returns. If there's one Jaeger left. We are needed, Brian."_

_"You can find someone else."_

_"No, I can't! It has to be you. We're the menace, Brian, you and me, and we're the greatest hope these people have have. We can make a difference, help... But I need you for that. Come back."_

When he opened his eyes, Roger wasn't sure if he had dreamed that conversation, if it had been a hallucination, a very vivid daydream... Or if it had actually happened. He faintly remembered hearing something about their neural handshake being the strongest recorded, could that mean that now they could communicate outside the Jaeger too?

Brian did wake up the next day (How could I not wake p when you asked so nicely?) and although the recovery was long, both Roger and Brian were fully recovered by the time the Menace was rebuilt and improved, courtesy of John. Which was very good timing because a couple weeks later, when their last backup Jaeger failed... there was a double event. Two Kaijus, big and angry, rising from the Thames, in London, where so many people still lived.

The Singing sensation and the Menace, the so called Kings of the Resistance (but kings sound so pedestrian an inelegant, darling, call us Queen!) were ready to face another battle. With no backup available, barely out of hospital. But still standing strong. Two Jaegers, four people.

Awakening as one.

 


	4. Chapter 4

The monsters were big and angry and very ready to wreak havoc on the cities around them, ready to destroy anything and anyone that got in their way. Unstoppable, enormous, gigantic – and so very furious. They were killing machines with a thirst for blood and posed an incredible danger to many innocent inhabitants, who were deeply exhausted of having to keep fighting for their lives.

Which meant that the lives of all those people that lived in the surrounding areas, on the expertise of those pilots who were there to save them. And the ability to do the slaying they were supposed to. On all four of those pilots awakening as one. Which they were about to do.

It was not going to be easy, not at all. John and Freddie had been fighting together for a long time, much longer than Roger and Brian. They had a completely different view on battles and strategies, on how to go about the fight. They often worked without words, or using Jaeger pilot lingo the other two didn't get. And because there had been no warning before this, there had been no time for synchronizing, for working together.

Fighting a battle together was a very delicate thing, something that needed a balance, a knowledge, a certain harmony and some knowledge of each other's strengths and weaknesses. And while Roger and Freddie had known each other for many years, they hadn't fought together in Jaegers, they were friends, but had never been in war together. And John and Brian were practically strangers, they said hellos and goodbyes, helped each other, but weren't close at all.

And all four of them had very strong personalities, were very opinionated and very stubborn. There were no places decided no leaders and followers. They all mattered th same amount, they all wrote history. Together, side by side. Not easy, no, it wasn't easy at all, but they were hopeful, despite the many difficulties that they were facing. It wasn't just the fact that they didn't know each other all that well, or that they had almost no time to prepare.

Roger and Brian had got out of the hospital not that long ago, and they still weren't a hundred percent there, neither physically nor emotionally. As much as they tried to compensate with their bravery and determination to end this war once and for all, that wasn't enough. They were still a bit shaky, a bit too weak for everyone's tastes, despite the amount of medication they'd been given. Everyone was counting on them, and they couldn't... wouldn't complain about any problems when the world was in the balance. When they were humanity's last hope, their shining bright (only) chance to finally cancel the apocalypse.

But there was a certain worry lurking under the surface. If the battle took too long... Brian was afraid that any of Roger's wounds could reopen, and Roger was afraid that Brian would pass out from the strain of battle. They couldn't afford that, they couldn't lose each other again. And the best way to keep everyone safe was to win this, and win they would.

“Ready, Freddie?”

Freddie nodded, and smirked. Of course he was.

They worked together unexpectedly well, all four of them, as if they were a well oiled machine, a match made in heaven. The Menace was good at strategy (distracting the Kaijus, making them inadvertently hurt each other, alluring them to traps so to where the Sensation was waiting and smiling, ready to strike.

The Singing sensation benefited from more experience in the battlefield, and was very good at dealing out direct attacks. The pilot in it, Freddie and John, knew very well how to work to make the most of the weapons they had. Still, it was not easy or quick.

The entire world held their breath as they watched in the televisions the Sensation be knocked down and their hearts stopped for a moment when the Jaeger didn't come back up immediately. But it was ok. It just needed some seconds to get back on its feet with renewed resolve and strength. With even more determination to make things right, to finish this battle and make these people feel safe again. They had the capacity to do that and they would. But mre difficulties were coming to them.

The larger Kaiju spewed some acidic substance to the Menace, who retreated as if burnt. And then... communication was lost. Roger and Brian couldn't be reached and nobody knew how serious the damage done by the acid was, if it had hurt the pilots. Was the damage only mechanical or had they lot one or two of their best pilots?

“Menace! Answer us, dammit!” Freddie's voice said through the intercom. “Roger, Brian, for the love of...”

But then the Menace dealt a knockout blow to the Kaiju that had spewed the acid and tried to poison them. There were rounds of cheering and applause among the viewers, who were happy to see how resilient the Jaegers (and the pilot in them) were.

The four members of the Jaeger force that were in battle smiled at each other. No matter how many times they were knocked down, they always got back up. They were strong, they were brave, they were talented and they believed in each other.

This was the end for those monsters. The menace and the Sensation delivered blow after blow, first one and then the other, giving the already weakened Kaijus no chance to recover and start their destruction again. They let out some final moans and cries, and then it was over. The city was safe. The apocalypse had been cancelled.

Freddie, John, Roger and Brian were hailed as heroes when they emerged from their Jaegers, and practically the whole population of London applauded them. Even her royal majesty decided to go to were those young men were, and offered her crown to thse valiant men who has risked their lives and the life of that person that mattered most to them to save the city, to save everyone in them. And there was an announcement, that the scientists had managed to close the breaches for good. There was joy, and the crown was passed around as they embraced and sang a song about how they were the champions.

Wearing that crown, feeling everyone's love... For a moment, each one of the four pilot, so different and yet so close... Each one of them was Queen.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Would love to hear from you :)


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